Frankfurt Skyliners Juniors

Travis Thompson Owns The Parkling Lot Charging The Fraport Skyliners Juniors Past The Dragons Rhondorf 92-81

In his short basketball career Rilwan Bakara has really gotten around the block as he was never comfortable playing at one school as he bounced around the States playing for schools like Columbus State Community College (NJCAA), Danville Area Community College (NJCAA), Campbellsville (NAIA) and Texas Wesleyan (NAIA) before turning professional two seasons ago. Now in his third professional season, the 26 year old 201cm forward that hails from Chicago is already playing with his fifth professional team with the Fraport Skyliners Juniors. After playing his rookie season in Germany with  TuS Breckerfeld (Germany-2.Regionalliga) where he played 18 games averaging 19.9ppg, and 10.5rpg where he was able to get a first feel for the European game, he moved to BK Iskra Svit (Slovakia-SBL) last season where he played 18 games averaging 11.2ppg, 6.8rpg, FGP: 57.8%, FT: 58.5% and demonstrated further that he was prepared for tasks in higher leagues. This season the big American has really been active as he started the season with Pernion Urheilijat Basket (Finland-1st Division playing 2 games averaging 20.0ppg, 11.0rpg, 1.0spg, in Oct.’16 moved to Union de Santa Fe (Argentina-TNA), where he played 17 games averaging 4.5ppg, 3.4rpg. Usually when you leave a misfortunate situation, you want to get back on the floor as quickly as possible and forget the last experience, but just doing that was a problem the last weeks as he wasn´t cleared to play for Frankfurt, so sitting around and watching the Frankfurt BBL team battle and new team Fraport Skyliners Juniors duel against opposing teams was a difficult matter for him to accept and adjust to, but last weekend he finally made his debut in Germany scoring four points and hauling down two rebounds in a bitter 80-74 loss at Weissenhorn. Bakare was ready to finally make his home debut, but had to match his skills with the top power forward in the Pro B and good buddy Aaron Nelson who was his teammate in high school in Illinois as both the Fraport Skyliners Juniors and Dragons Rhondorf were looking to rebound from loses and Frankfurt came away with the big 92-81 loss.

After the tough loss, Nelson was sitting on the floor looking as pooped as if Shaq had just run full speed around the court, but he still had a smile ready for his small daughter who had made the trip to watch big daddy play and was disappointed at the loss, but blessed that he could play against friend Rilwan Bakare. “It was fun playing against Rilwan. Who would have thought 7-8 years ago that we would both be playing in Germany one day. It has been a great experience for both of us in Germany. He has gotten stronger and I know his strength and weaknesses. Not only he made me tired today, but the whole Frankfurt team. Rilwan is a great player”, stressed Dragons Rhondorf forward Aaron Nelson. After making his home debut and winning, Bakare strolled over to a battered Nelson in front of the Dragons bench and the American looked a lot fresher than Nelson and was also blessed to finally play against his ex teammate. “I knew from day one when I arrived in Frankfurt where Aaron played and had marked this day on the calendar. When I was playing in Finland earlier this season, I always watched his games. I haven´t seen him play in 7-8 years, but he has gotten better, but is still the old Aaron Nelson in that he is still a dominant player. I like how Rhondorf gives him the freedom to shoot the ball”, stressed Chicago and Fraport Skyliners Junior Rilwan Bakare.

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Travis Thompson Heats Up In Third Quarter Lifting The Fraport Skyliners Juniors Past The Licher Basket Baeren 88-76

The second half of the 2016-2017 Pro B season is fast underway and as always new players coming and going is as common now in the season as Houston Rocket James Harden racking in those double doubles to nobodies amazement and two new faces entered the court Sunday night in the BCM in Frankfurt as the Fraport Skyliners Juniors had reeled in 26 year old 201cm American Rilwan Bakare who had played at four different schools in his career before starting his professional basketball career in 2014 in Germany with TuS Breckerfeld (Germany-2.Regionalliga) where he averaged 19,9ppg and 10,5rpg in 18 games and last season he showed his raw abilities with  BK Iskra Svit (Slovakia-SBL): 18 games: 11.2ppg, 6.8rpg, FGP: 57.8%, FT: 58.5%. He started this season in Finland with Pernion Urheilijat Basket (Finland-1st Division) playing 2 games averaging 20.0ppg, 11.0rpg, 1.0spg, before moving to Union de Santa Fe (Argentina-TNA) where he played 17 games averaging 4,5ppg and 3,4rpg and was teammates with American Mike Williams who probably had some rare Texas(NCAA) stories with future NBA players Daniel Gibson and Lamarcus Aldrige that he could pass on to his new teammates and have some of the young Germans some rare basketball facts to ponder about. The Licher Basket Baeren had brought in an American rookie with Blake Justice who had played six games at Akron before moving on Valdosta State8NCAA2) and having a fine career from 2013-2016 playing a total of 72 games and as a senior played  28 games averaging 15.8ppg, 3.6rpg, 2.4apg, 1.1spg, FGP: 44.5%, 3PT: 39.3%, FT: 79.3%. He had some big games against schools like Alabama Huntsville with 26 points and 25 points against Shorter. Both players came into the game wanting to display right away that they were worth every buck and the Lich scoring duo of KK Simmons and Lamar Mallory who were averaging 40 points a game combined wanted to keep up their unstoppable play, but only combined for 28 points and couldn´t withstand the hot hand and timely shooting of Travis Thompson who broke the game wide open drilling four three´s in the third quarter and notching 14 points which broke the back of the guests and propelled the Fraport Skyliners Juniors to the 88-76 victory.

Rilwan Bakare couldn´t make his debut with Frankfurt as he wasn´t cleared to play yet, but Blake Justice did scoring 14 points in his professional debut and was excited about finally getting that first game of his back, but at the same time disappointed in the loss. “I felt a little rusty as this was my first game in 7 months, but felt good to get into the flow. I have only been here 5-6 days so I have to get used to how the my teammates and team play. We had too many turnovers and let Frankfurt get too many easy baskets and put backs, stressed Ohio native Blake Justice. Fraport Skyliners Tim Oldenburg was sporting a new Jutsin Biberish type of hairdo, but that didn´t seem to get messed up in the overall physical game. “Both teams had a lot of energy. It was only too bad that the refs didn´t know what kind of line they would call. It was nice to play together with Stefan Ilzhoefer and Niklas Kiel. We were individually stronger than usual with this lineup and we played well together as a team for many phases”, stressed Fraport Skyliners Juniors forward Tim Oldenburg. “We got beat on the glass all night long. We gave up something like 40-50 points on offensive rebounds and turnovers. You can´t beat anyone like that when your giving up that many points. We beat ourselves, but we did fight until the end”, added Licher Baskets Baeren guard Kareem Jamal Simmons.

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Jordan Talbert Gets Revenge Powering PS Karlsruhe Past The Fraport Skyliners Juniors 77-72

PS Karlsruhe forward Jordan Talbert has had some huge games in Germany in the Pro B last season as well as this season, but so far in three tries against the Fraport Skyliners Juniors has come away on the short end of the stick in two different uniforms. Last season Talbert was wearing the Giants Nordlingen jersey well as he averaged 17.5ppg, Reb-1(11.0rpg), 2.4apg, 1.7spg, Blocks-5(1.5bpg), FGP: 48.5%, 3PT: 27.5%, FT: 73.4%. and he scored in double figures 28 times and registerd 19 double doubles. However he lost a bitter 73-71 contest in Frankfurt steering 14 points and then got smacked around at home 78-56 as he produced 26 points and nine rebounds. This season in a new jersey, he was unable to take the season opener at home with PS Karlsruhe as they lost a nail bitter 61-56 as he was controlled well scoring only seven points on eight shots. He was looking to break his 0-3 negative streak as PS Karlsruhe entered the contest having lost a nasty 76-63 game to the Bayer Giants Leverkusen while the Fraport Skyliners Juniors rode into the game with enormous self-confidence having continued their masterful winning streak to two games having won a tough road game in Rhondorf 74-69 as the savior BBL license player Mahir Agva had been on board for a second consecutive game and was a big factor in the Frankfurt squad winning again. The game pitted two of the leagues best defensive teams as PS Karlsruhe came into the battle leading the league in points given up with 69, while the Fraport Skyliners Juniors were the third best defensive team giving up only 73 points. Despite losing the first game at home, PS Karlsruhe did manage to keep Frankfurt at 61 points and wanted to supply another superb defensive performance and did stopping the Fraport Skyliners Juniors 77-72. After the victory, a pooped Jordan Talbert was just happy to finally get that Skyliner monkey off his back. (more…)

Travis Thompson Drives The Fraport Skyliners Juniors To 74-69 Victory Over The Dragons Rhondorf

Last year was a season to forget for the Dragons Rhondorf as they finished dead last in the German Pro A and were regulated back to the Pro B, a place where they had played many seasons against the Fraport Skyliners Juniors. Two seasons ago, both teams split as the Dragons Rhondorf lost an exciting spectacular game in Frankfurt 77-75 as Kyle Fossmann won the game with his bread and butter the deep three from the parking lot and teammate Johannes Richter was in monster mode under the boards netting 22 points and grabbing 17 rebounds. In the return game in Rhondorf, fans witnessed the total opposite as the Dragons Rhondorf destroyed the Fraport Skyliners Juniors 119-65 as they had five players score in double figures led by American Justin Smith with 26 points and Germans Tim Schonborn had 21 points and Fabian Thuelig contributed 20 points. A little more than two years later the two teams met again as the eighth place Dragons Rhondorf with a record of 4-6 faced the Fraport Skyliners Juniors with a record of 3-7 and resting in tenth place. Only a hand-full players from two seasons ago remained with Viktor Frankel-Maus and Sascha Tratnjek while Frankfurt could only offer Lenny Okeke. The Fraport Sklyiners Juniors now had to contend with the beast Aaron Nelson who carried 23 and 13 stats into game and Frankfurt head coach Eric Detlev wished that he could of had a Johannes Richter on board, but then again didn´t need him because he had Mahir Agva who came on the train with teammate Stefan Ilzhoefer from Braunschweig after helping beat the Basket Lowen Braunschweig the night before with the Fraport Skyliners and helped the Pro B team overcome a Rhondorf come back in the second half and beat them 74-69. After the loss, a dejected Dragons Rhondorf point guard Viktor Frankl-Maus reflected on the loss and buzzer beater from two seasons again. “I remember that buzzer beater as I was just coming back from an injury. I warmed up before the game, but didn´t play. That was an up and down game with less points. I thought that we could get back and possibly win this game tonight with a last shot. It is hard to believe that we couldn´t win despite having 22 offensive rebounds. Usually you should score 80-90 points when you get that much. We didn´t shoot well, but our defense was ok except for the second quarter”, explained German Viktor Frankl-Maus. After the win, Agva was stretching and when confronted with the notion that he had been responsible for the team turnaround after his return where he produced 30 points and the game winner against Leverkusen a week ago and 15 points in Rhondorf, he just innocently sighed and took the winning feeling all in stride. “I try to be the team leader and do what the team needs from me with scoring and rebounding. We were lucky to win this game. Usually when you get 22 offensive rebounds you win. We had big plays at the end and made our free throws. But that is how basketball works sometimes. Our defense was key at the end as well. I am glad that we are winning and I think that we are on a good way”, stressed Fraport Skyliner Mahir Agva.

It was another new home coming for Fraport Skyliners head coach eric Detlev who worked 11 years for the Dragons Rhondorf starting as an assistant coach and getting the head coaching job in 2009 and leading the club to the Pro B title in 2010 and then moved to Frankfurt in 2012. Before the game he felt like he shook 15 hands as well as hugs from many well-wishers from back in the day. When the last well-wisher traded his own anecdote with Detlev, the game finally began which saw the guests get out in a big way leading 6-2 quickly as Alaska native Travis Thompson who tested his 64% three point percentage and ex Ludwigsburg guard Stefan Ilzhoefer dropped consecutive three pointers. However Rhondorf got into the game quickly as they set the tone early on the offensive glass demonstrating their aggressiveness and never ending desire to rule on the rim as they got some easy buckets inside from Illinois native Aaron Nelson and German Florian Wendeler made an offensive rebound and put back dunk and then dunked on the pick and roll with Frankl-Maus as the game was tied at 10-10. Both teams then would trade buckets twice as Ilzhoefer and Thompson scored while Rhondorf countered with a Nelson lay in and Thomas Michel off balance shot to tie the game at 14-14. The Canadian sensation Mike Lucier than muscled down an offensive rebound and made the put back for the first Dragons lead of the day. However 17 year old German sensation Isaac Bonga rammed home an extra athletic exclamation mark as he saw daylight and flew down the lane with a thunderous one hand dunk which silenced the Dragon dome ending the first quarter 16-16. “We did a good job getting second chance opportunities and points. We also played with a lot of heart against the physical defense of Frankfurt”, stressed Dragons Rhondorf CEO Boris Kaminski. The Fraport Skyliners Juniors were shooting 50% from the field and from outside while the Dragons Rhondorf were shooting 39% from the field and 0% from outside. Rhonndorf had the 13-5 rebound edge, but five turnovers while Frankfurt had three turnovers.

In the second quarter, Frankfurt gave an early sign that they were in the mood of breaking away, but Rhondorf withstood a few tries, until they wilted halfway through as the guests would break open the game and lead by double digits. The Fraport Skyliners Juniors took control right away going on a 8-3 run to lead 24-19 as ex Bremerhaven guard Garai Zeeb connected on back to back three pointers and young German Armin Trtovac hit a pretty 20 footer. Rhondorf came back getting buckets from New York native Will Trawick and German Bastian Winterhalter who made a running hook shot to cut the Frankfurt lead to 26-24. Then came the turning point of the second quarter as the Fraport Skyliners Juniors exploded for a 14-2 run to go into halftime with the comfortable 40-26 advantage. In the run, Frankfurt dominated the paint area as there was no big body to serve as a wall as Nelson was on the bench. Frankfurt got two tough buckets in traffic from Ilzhoefer and Thompson and then the Alaska native rushed by two Rhondorf defenders for another easy basket. Agva got to the free throw line twice, but connected only twice while Bonga made a runner. Agva really put a dagger through Rhondorf´s heart in the last seconds as he nailed a trey with his usual high rainbow. “Not having Nelson in hurt us in the paint area as Frankfurt got many easy baskets. Our back up point guard Patrick Reusch couldn´t play to add stability when Frankl-Maus was out. It really hurt us when he wasn´t in. We started to lose confidence and had doubt after a few missed shots”, added Dragons Rhondorf CEO Boris Kaminski. The Fraport Skyliners Juniors were shooting 60% from the field and 56% from the three point line while the Dragons Rhondorf were shooting 31% from the field and 0% from the three point line. Frankfurt did a better job on the boards narrowing the Rhondorf rebound advantage to 18-17. Rhondorf had six turnovers and Frankfurt had five turnovers.

In the third quarter, the Dragons Rhondorf staged a fierce comeback carving down the Frankfurt lead to 52-50 after 30 minutes. The Fraport Skyliners started off the third quarter with a beautiful play as Ilzhoefer found Bonga back door, but instead of making the lay up chose to distribute the no look pass to the better positioned Agva who made the bucket for the 42-26 advantage. Bonga once again demsonstarted his unselfish play something which can be credited to his early beginings in Koblenz. Rhondorf got some production from Frankl-Maus making free throws and from Nelson getting another easy basket inside to cut the Frankfurt lead to 44-32. Zeeb and Ilzhoefer then made free throws extending the Frankfurt lead to 46-32. Then came the Dragons run of 18-6 which shocked Frankfurt and got the home team back into the life and brought life back into the quieter Dragon Dome. American Will Trawick started the big run with a trey ending the Rhondorf three point drought. Rhondorf just kept chipping way looking for Nelson inside for easy buckets and Frankl-Maus also scored inside showing how well he can help lead a team under pressure. Michel also made a big bucket converting on a trey to cut the Frankfurt advantage to 48-42. Frankfurt got an important basket from 17 year old ex TV Langen guard German Niklas Pons who helped them get some production in this Rhondorf dominated time, but Nelson simply continued to be too much scoring from anywhere as he dropped a 20 footer and then converted an offensive rebound into a put back and Wendeler secured free throws as Frankfurt led by only 52-50 after 30 minutes. “We didn´t play good offense. We all made mistakes including myself. Rhondorf got the momentum and the gym got loud which helped them”, stressed Mahir Agva. “We played a lot better and that showed with our bod language and intensity on the court. We worked from stop to stop and did all the small things better like rebounding and getting loose balls. We also did a good job keeping the Frankfurt defense under pressure”, added Viktor Frankl-Maus. The Fraport Skyliners Juniors were shooting 50% from the field and 36% from the parking lot while the Dragons Rhondorf were shooting 35% from the field and 14% from the parking lot. Rhondorf rebounded a lot better again having the 34-24 edge and both teams had eight turnovers a piece.

In the fourth quarter, the Fraport Skyliners executed on another huge run, but the Dragons Rhondorf exhibited heart again not letting their heads hang and fought back a last time. Nelson got Rhondorf on the board first with a lay in over the Frankfurt double team to dead lock the game at 52-52. Frankfurt then burst out on a 12-0 run to claim the comfortable 64-52 lead. In the run, they got continued solid production from Agva who connected on another mid distance shot and rocked home an off balance shot. Bonga also scored on an off balance shot, Ilzhoefer and Thompson connected on free throws and Zeeb  poured home a deep three on transition rounding out the run. Frankfurt had the momentum again displaying how quickly their offense can get going and played more rigid defense not letting Rhondorf get good shots. Rhondorf still had some energy in their tank and kept their composure and rode out on a 13-4 run to cut the Frankfurt lead to 68-65. In the run, Rhondorf got some much needed support from downtown as Nelson and Trawick connected, but also got vital production in the paint from Wendeler with a lay in and Frankl-Maus showcasing his immense  speed once again not getting contested by Bonga. Nelson nailed a baby hook shot over Agva and all of a sudden the Dragon Dome was loud again and Rhondorf down by only 68-65. Bonga and Frankl-Maus then traded free throws as Frankfurt still led 70-67. Despite the youth of Frankfurt as they average only 18 years per player, they stayed very calm in the last minute and a half and gave the reigns to Travis Thompson who drove the Fraport Skyliners Juniors to the win with a very difficult drive form the base line in traffic and connected off the glass for the 72-67 Frankfurt lead. Frankl-Maus then made free throws as did Thompson for the 74-69 lead. Ilzhoefer doused the last attempt by the Dragons Rhondorf with a steal ending the game. “We were a bit tired at the end, but we can´t take that as an excuse. I think that not having Reus today hurt as impulses from him were missing. We played good defense on Thompson and he made a tough shot”, stressed Viktor Frankl-Maus. ”They were tired at the end, but so were we. We were the better team mentally and wanted to win the game more”, expressed Mahir Agva.

The Fraport Skyliners Juniors were led by Travis Thompson with 21 points. Mahir Agva added 15 points and seven rebounds. Stefan Ilzhoefer produced 12 points while Garai Zeeb contributed 11 points and six assists while Isaac Bonga had 10 points, five rebounds and four assists. The Dragons Rhondorf were led by Aaron nelson with 27 points and 10 rebounds. Viktor Frankl-Maus produced 15 points, five rebounds and eight assists. The Fraport Skyliners Juniors shot 52% from the field and 38% from outside while the Dragons Rhondorf shot 37% from the field and 22% from outside. Rhondorf had the 43-31 rebound edge including the massive 22-3 offensive rebound edge and both teams coughed up the ball 10 times a piece.

Mahir Agva Fires The Fraport Skyliners Juniors Past The Bayer Giants Leverkusen 83-80

The EasyCredit BBL may still be a dream and as far away for the Bayer Giants Leverkusen at the moment as it is for the New England Patriots not reaching the playoffs again, but one thing is for sure over the last years, the club has brought in very raw talent and some of those Americans have blossomed in their short time shooting the lights out and having head coach Achim Kuczmann leave the court with a content smile more than once. Back in the 2010-2011 season, the club reeled in highly talented Josh Young out of Drake(NCAA) and he immediately tore up the Pro B playing 11 games and averaging 26.7ppg, 6.4rpg, 3.0apg, 2.3spg, FGP: 45.2%, 3PT: 45.3%, FT: 79.0%. He then went on to a consistent BBL career with the Walter Tigers Tuebingen. Three seasons later, the club brought in Josh Parker who was also a rookie like Young and he came out of Dayton(NCAA) having been a decent role player there and he rapidly displayed that he was way too good for the Pro B as he totally dominated leading the league in scoring at 28.5ppg), 4.5rpg, Assists-2(7.1apg), 2.2spg, FGP: 43.3%, 3PT: 33.9%, FT: 80.3%. He had 15 games where he scored 30 points or more including massive scoring explosions against Dresden with 48 points and 44 points against Schwelm. He also displayed a knack of not only hogging the ball, but being a fine playmaker as he dished out 10 assists or more four times. After this unforgettable season, he also made the jump to the EasyCredit BBL with the Mitteldeutscher BC and then gained further experience in Turkey and Poland. This season the Bayer Giants have another raw scorer in Kerry Carter who isn´t a rookie, but playing his second season after playing briefly last season in the best league in Europe with Iberostar Tenerife CB Canarias and showed his mastery scoring nine points in 10 minutes against Real Madrid. This season he is averaging 25,7ppg and 4,6apg in nine games and still has a bit of catching up on Parker´s 15 30 plus games as he is at four, but so far Carter has shown that he is too good for the Pro B. Almost four years ago, the Fraport Skyliners Juniors held Parker to his lowest point total of the season at 11 and kept him honest at 3/15 shooting. Carter made his debut in the BCM in Frankfurt where NBA players like Alan Anderson and Carlos Arroyo have tested the rims and was looking to give another shooting clinic and did scoring 24 points and even if he did shoot the ball 26 times, he did display his versatility as he can do so much more than just score as he gave out 10 dimes, hauled down seven boards and had four steals, but it wasn´t enough to bring home the win as the Fraport Skyliners Juniors squeaked out a 83-80 win as Mahir hit them with 30 and the  winning bucket with a few seconds remaining winning their first home game of the season and third game of the season. After the game, one could sense that Kerry Carter was more than perturbed about the loss and he had erased everything about his own game as he was nibbling too much about the loss. “My own game wasn´t good enough today”, sighed Kerry Carter. “Carter is a good player that is hard to guard. He is one of those players in that when he puts up a shot, it has a good chance of going in”, stressed Alaska native Travis Thompson. Not only Carter was disgusted with the loss, but so was assistant coach Hansi Gnad. “It was dumb how we lost and we can´t really let that happen. Frankfurt played clever at the end. They gave the ball to Agva and he finished. I remember doing that from my days”, added Hansi Gnad. “We made shots and Agva was a big presence. The game was up and down and we were lucky that we won. We knew that they would rush and we wanted to slow down the game. This was a big home win and we can build off the momentum”, stressed Travis Thompson.

The game had an interesting anecdote in that 53 year old Hansi Gnad who is the assistant coach of the Bayer Giants Leverkusen had a similarity with 25 year Fraport Skyliner Junior Travis Thompson. Both played at Alaska Anchorage(NCAA2) and Thompson had the distinction of passing Gnad on the all-time scoring record into second place on his last field goal which gave him 1667 points while the German ended with 1666 points. After the game, Thompson revealed that he had spoken to Gnad before the game to catch up on this record and their old school. “This was the first time that I had met him. We played for the same coach Rusty Osborne and talked about him and I told him about the new facilities there. He is in the hall of fame there and it´s cool that I passed him and to know how much he has accomplished. One day I will be able to tell my kids what I did. It´s a small world”, commented Travis Thompson. Both teams found a healthy rhythm early as both teams found their range. Ex Tuebingen center Mahir Agva found his rhythm right away sinking a baby hook shot, but Kerry Carter responded rapidly nailing a trey for the 3-2 Leverkusen advantage. Agva continued to make buckets getting a lay in and ex Ludwigsburg German Stefan Ilzhoefer scored on the fast break to extend the Frankfurt lead to 6-3. Ex Dresden Titan Damon Smith knotted the score at 6-6 as he sunk a trey. Both teams continued to score at a high rate as Thompson nailed his first trey of the day and German Konstantin Schubert leaped into the passing lane like a guard and went coast to coast for the lay in and Frankfurt led 11-6. Leverkusen didn´t let up and tied the score as Michael Kuczmann tested his 46% three point percentage scoring and ex Rhondorf Dragon Tim Schon born got aggressive scoring inside as no Skyliner challenged him. After Ilzhoefer and Carter traded buckets, it was Agva that made an offensive rebound and put back and Thompson made his second three of the game as 17 year old Isaac Bonga made the perfect unselfish pass as Frankfurt led 18-13. Frankfurt kept the lead with a Ilzhoefer trey and Agva hook shot. Young 17 year old German Niklas Pons made a pretty floater to add on to the lead as Frankfurt led 25-19 after one quarter. “We moved the ball well on offense and Agva did a good job in the paint scoring. We still had too many turnovers”, warned Fraport Skyliner Junior Lenny Okeke. The Fraport Skyliners Juniors shot 52% from the field and 38% from outside while the Bayer Giants Leverkusen shot 41% from the field and 40% from outside. Frankfurt had the 10-9 rebound lead and two turnovers while Leverkusen had four turnovers.

The Bayer Giants Leverkusen came out red hot in the second quarter getting back into the game going on a 9-3 run to tie the game at 28-28. In the run, they were aided by young German big man Martin Linnsen who got to the free throw line twice and Carter scored a trey and an off balance shot. The game remained very close now as the Bayer Giants Leverkusen were able to tie the game a few times, but never get the lead. Rookie American Brandon Nazione tied the game at 31-31, but Thompson once again supplied the hot hand nailing a three, but Kuczmann thought two can play that game also scoring from the parking lot dead locking the game at 34-34. Frankfurt continued to keep the lead getting valuable production from Agva who scored twice in the paint as Frankfurt led 40-36. Frankfurt kept their nose ahead as Schubert scored in buckets and Agva scored again inside as the Fraport Skyliners Juniors had the slim 46-42 lead at the break. “Leverkusen went to zone and we had difficulty with that and they forced us to more turnovers. It was a back and forth game. I thought that we defended pretty well, but still didn´t do as good a job on Carter as we could off. We gave up too many open three´s”, stated Lenny Okeke. The Fraport Skyliners Juniors were shooting 53% from the field and 38% from the three point line while the Bayer Giants Leverkusen were shooting 43% from the field and 59% from the three point line. Frankfurt had the 22-16 rebound edge, but nine turnovers while Leverkusen had six turnovers.

The third quarter remained tight as no team could run away with the lead. The Fraport Skyliners Juniors started off with a quick 5-0 run as Agva made a running hook shot and Thompson made the extra pass to a streaking Schubert in the lane for the easy basket as Frankfurt led 50-45. The Bayer Giants Leverkusen then rushed out on a 8-0 run to snatch the lead back at 53-50. In the run, it was Carter who played at St Marys(NCAA) that did what he does best and this is scoring in bunches as he lit up the scoreboard with a trey and then made a steal and went coast to coast and got a free throw. 31 year old German Gotz Twiehoff added on to the run with a lay in. the Bayer Giants Leverkusen were the more consistent offensive team now and were getting more stops. They continued to keep the lead as hot shooting Kuczmann connected on another trey as they led 56-52. They were able to extend their lead to 59-54, as Nazione made his second crushing dunk of the game. Basketball is and will always remain a game of runs and that is what the Fraport Skyliners Juniors practiced as they scored 9 unanswered points snatching back the lead at 63-59. In the run, Frankfurt got ample support from Ilzhoefer who had the needed extra energy which also gave their defense a spark as he made a lay in in traffic and also scored on the fast break. Bonga and Agva also scored. Smith hit a shot clock buzzer beater, but Frankfurt still led 63-62 after three quarters. “We had good ball movement and were more aggressive and did a good job attacking the rim”, stated Travis Thompson. “We had too many untimely turnovers and that will always cost you on the road”, stressed Kerry Carter. The Fraport Skyliners Juniors were shooting 53% from the field and 31% from the parking lot while the Bayer Giants Leverkusen were shooting 53% from the field and 50% from the parking lot. Frankfurt had the 29-26 rebound edge, but 14 turnovers while Leverkusen had nine turnovers.

In the fourth quarter, The Bayer Giants Leverkusen had a horrible start, but the Fraport Skyliners Juniors couldn´t take much advantage of their first five possessions that led to no points. Tim Oldenburg started off the fourth quarter sinking a 20 footer and then Frankfurt stopped four possessions, but could score themselves. After making their fifth stop on Leverkusen, Thompson then hurt Leverkusen with a trey extending the lead to 68-62. However Leverkusen then finally scored their first field goal of the fourth quarter as ex Rollins(NCAA2) guard Alexander Blessing nailed a trey cutting the Frankfurt lead to 68-65. Frankfurt then got some quick offensive spark with a 4-0 run as Ilzhoefer scored on an off balance shot and Garai Zeeb scored an acrobatic finger tip floater for the 72-65 Frankfurt advantage. However just when it seemed like Leverkusen was wilting before crunch-time had even arrived, Leverkusen didn´t get that killer scoring touch from Carter, but from Kuczmann  who nailed consecutive three´s suddenly tying the game at 73-73. Frankfurt then upped their intensity a bit more and were aggressive getting to the rim as Bonga drew two fouls and Agva made a tip in for the 78-73 lead. Frankfurt then made two huge mistakes letting 188cm guard Alexander Blessig get an offensive rebound and put back back to back cutting the Frankfurt lead to 78-77. Agva then made free throws and Leverkusen had 25 seconds remaining in the game and every one knew Carter would get the ball and he did what all big time scorers do which was nail a three pointer tying the game at 80-80 with six seconds remaining. Frankfurt had the ball and enough time to win the game. They elected to get Agva the ball and he finished successfully inside like he had all game long and then secured the victory with a free throw. “We started out flat and it was a game of runs. On that last play, I thought we did a good job denying him the ball, but they made a good back door lob pass and he did a good job getting to the rim. We did a good job taking away all their other options and he did what he had to do”, stressed Kerry Carter. “They didn´t deny Agva the ball bad, but it was a good play from us”, smiled Travis Thompson. The Fraport Skyliners Juniors were led by Mahir Agva with 30 points. Travis Thompson added 15 points while Stefan Ilzhoefer had 12 points and Konstantin Schubert had 10 points. The Bayer Giants Leverkusen were led by Kerry Carter with 24 points and Michael Kuczmann added 15 points. The Fraport Skyliners Juniors shot 50% from the field and 30% from outside while the Bayer Giants Leverkusen were shooting 40% from the field and 32% from outside. Frankfurt had the 41-38 rebound edge, but 20 turnovers while Leverkusen coughed up the ball 14 times.

 

Jordan Faison Leads The Uni-Riesen Leipzig On 23-0 Run Smothering The Fraport Skyliners Juniors To 73-67 Victory

Players come and go in the basketball world and teams change personal from season to season as frequently as Paris Hilton changes her outfits on any given day depending on the occasion. Despite all the changes going on sometimes two players do meet again despite the unending possibilities of moving to another country or other leagues within the country and that is exactly what happened as the Fraport Skyliners Juniors squared off in a regular season clash with the Uni-Riesen Leipzig and suddenly German/Israeli Guy Aud found himself facing off against German Tim Oldenburg again. It was a little more than five years ago in the 2011-2012 season as both were rookies in the Pro B as Aud was in Germany for the first time after many years balling in Israel while Oldenburg was a young gun starting his basketball career in Frankfurt. Aud played with the Licher Basket Baeren and helped defeat the Fraport Skyliners Juniors 64-50 as back then a little known Danilo Barthel who now plays for FC Bayern Munich was just getting started with his stellar five year career with the Fraport Skyliners and there were also other guys like Larry Wright, Falko Thelig or Fabian Franke that one or the another will still remember. In that game in Frankfurt, both werern´t real factors as they combined for 18 minutes and three points as Aud hit from downtown. In the return game in Lich, Aud also won a nail bitter 78-76 as he steered home eight points. In the last five years, Oldenburg has stayed faithful to Frankfurt while Aud has had his traveling expense at full throttle having played in Paderborn, Chemnitz, Dresden and Israel. Five years later, the two players met again, but if you were to ask them if they remembered that first encounter five years ago or if they even knew the other played in that game, the answer probably would have been negative. “I couldn´t remember playing Tim Oldenburg, but I knew the name. I remember the Lich games against Frankfurt and remember hurting my shoulder here 5 years ago. It is always fun and competitive playing these games and I am 3-0 now against Frankfurt”, stressed ex Lich guard Guy Aud. “I can´t remember games so far back. For me it´s hard remembering the last game. I try to remember the last game as good as I can. What I can remember was winning the cup with Eintracht Frankfurt in 2010 over Braunschweig in the U-18 competition that had Dennis Schroeder and Daniel Theis”, smiled Tim Oldenburg.

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Georg Beyschlag Powers FC Bayern Munich 2 Past The Fraport Skyliners Juniors 64-59

One of the main attractions in any German football city is when the big mighty FC Bayern Munich comes to town and for years and years and years the Red was always in Niederrad a close hop over the Main river playing 45 times against Eintracht Frankfurt in the Bundesliga since 1965, but since 2011 a second FC Bayern Munich has crossed over into Frankfurt to Hoechst as the basketball department finally was back in the first league and has been battling the Fraport Skyliners for years with the Bavarian team getting the last laugh on most occasions. However this season a third FC Bayern Munich club will make their first appearance to Frankfurt with their farm team as they came to the Nordwest center where the Fraport Skyliners Juniors have their home residence to duel on a rare Friday evening. Even if an Uli Hoeness had some how gotten lost or by mistake made his way into the smug BCM gym or assistant coach Demond Greene had let some of his contacts go to work and urged some of his old German national team teammates to watch the game, the main title of this game could only be one “Kids”. The Pro B is obviously a league that develops many young players, but very rarely do you see two teams like the Fraport Skyliners Juniors and FC Bayern Munich 2 sprout so much youthfulness as if the fountain youth was situated in the corner of the arena as both clubs have an average age of 18 years on their respective rosters. Another amazing thing about this clash of the youth was that neither team had an American import which is very rare, but FC Bayern Munich 2 did have enough support from other European countries to help improve their respectable 4-1 record while the Fraport Skyliners Juniors were reeling a bit trying to get back on the winning track boasting a tiresome 2-4 record having lost four of their last five games. The game was a tale of two halves as the Fraport Skyliners Juniors controlled the first half, but let the game slip away as FC Bayern Munich 2 roared back in the second half getting special energy from Karim Jallow and Georg Beyschlag defeating the Fraport Skyliners Juniors 64-59. After the fifth loss of the season, there was no discouragement from team elder statesman with 24 years German Tim Oldenburg who was back from an injury and was hopeful for the future of the young team. “It felt good to be back. It is all still a bit slow, but all is good. We have a very young team, but have Travis Thompson back and I feel that we still have the same quality from last season so all is good”, smiled Tim Oldenburg. The Fraport Skyliners Juniors continue to have massive problems executing and hitting balls and their 26 turnovers defined an ever growing problem with taking care of the ball. “It didn´t matter what we did today, we couldn´t hit shots. We let them play their game in the third quarter in which they got easy baskets off our turnovers. Munich is a young team and it can be hard to get out of the hole, but we let them way too easily”, stressed Tim Oldenburg. FC Bayern Munich 2 like Frankfurt had a horrible offense game, but stepped it up on the defensive end a tic more than Frankfurt. “We had no rhythm on offense missing easy lay ups, free throws and having too many turnovers. We won this game with good defense”, stressed assistant coach Demond Greene.

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David Kramer And Weissenhorn Share Three´s A Charm Disposing The Fraport Skyliners Juniors 75-65

Almost six months ago, the Weisenhorn Youngsters were battling in a do or die playoff game against the Fraport Skyliners Juniors, but on this night three pointers were flying around the BCM gym with accuracy as if the recipients of adding to their three point scoring stat could have been guys like Ray Allen or Reggie Miller something which would have been a dream for the fans, but in reality on this night, the farm team of BBL team Fraport Skyliners didn´t need these legends or any others as they had fine shooting specimens with Canadian Travis Thompson and Lithuanian Tomas Dimsa who added the most damage and at the end of the game the club had dropped 17 trey´s. The 109-93 loss sent Weissenhorn home for the summer, but many of the BBL license players still had their season prolonged with their success in the playoffs where they reached the final. Weissenhorn fought very hard and never gave up, but the Fraport Skyliners Juniors just had one of those games where everything they released found the netting as if it had been released into the ocean as the ease at which they were going in was apparent. German U-20 national player David Kramer did all he could dropping 28 points in the loss and probably didn´t forget this crazy game so easily either. Kramer returned back to an old point stomping ground, but he didn´t leave the building as a winner last season losing twice and now finally wanted to get that monkey off his back and depart as a winner. Both the Fraport Skyliners Juniors and Weissenhorn Youngsters entered the game with 1-1 records whereas Frankfurt belonged to the top defensive teams in the league, while Weissenhorn was averaging 80 points on offense and belonged to the top half of best rebounding teams. Weissenhorn was looking for revenge from last season while the Fraport Skyliners Juniors had many of their veterans from last season and biggest German talent since Dennis Schroeder so expectations were high for both sides. However Weissenhorn had their noses in front all game long and always had to succumb to Frankfurt comebacks, but their hard edged rebounding and timely shots in the fourth quarter helped them win 75-65. After the win, an exhausted David Kramer was laying on his back and must have been reliving some of his past misfortune in this adorable gym, but when he got up, he was all smiles as he had finally won there. He finally had his three is a charm as he had had misfortune the last two years in Frankfurt. “I always like coming and playing in the BCM, because I know that there will be exciting games here. After they kicked us out of the NBBL two years ago and last season out of the Pro B playoffs, we finally got revenge here. Frankfurt always has quality teams and for us to get this win today will give us a lot of self confidence for the next games”, warned Weissenhorn guard David Kramer. Nobody could question the fighting qualities of the Fraport Skyliners Juniors, but they had many phases where they lacked concentration and were torn apart under the boards. “A big problem for us so far this season has been not being able to all practice together as a team. The systems are the same, but we just need to practice more and we will get better. Rebounding was our biggest problem today and that is something where each player has to work on”, stressed ex Ehingen center Mahir Agva. “We controlled the game and were able to play our game. We rebounded very well and played good defense. We did have some lucky breaks, but that belongs to the game”, added David Kramer.

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Marcellus Barksdale Celebrates First Professional Victory With TG s.Oliver Wurzburg Spanking The Fraport Skyliners Juniors 80-67

Every season brings the Pro B new players, hopes and dreams to be played out as Isaac Bonga and American Marcellus Barksdale are two key players for both Frankfurt and Wurzburg that are experiencing new horizons in their careers. The one player is 16 year Isaac Bonga who is a 203cm point guard seen as the biggest German talent since Dennis Schroeder and 23 year old 196cm guard Marcellus Barksdale. Bonga had played all last season in the BCM in the NBBL league with Eintracht Frankfurt and made his pro B debut last weekend in Karlsruhe, but finally was ready to make his home pro B debut in Frankfurt. Barksdale on the other hand had a hectic summer where he didn´t get signed until very late where the rookie who hails from Lexington, Kentucky may have been feeling lower than a jockey does when he accidently slips form his horse during the famous Kentucky Derby. Not knowing if you will even be a professional basketball player right out of college most likely made his summer feel like two summers as the waiting and waiting probably took toils on his mind. However the American finally got signed in September 21 by TG s Oliver Wurzburg, but his excitement for that professional debut was put on hold as he was prohibited from being inserted in the first game, a wipeout in Elchingen losing 105-74 as his input was more than needed as his papers hadn´t been cleared yet. The legal work was finally taken care of and he could start his professional debut in Frankfurt. The Two B´s Bonga and Barksdale played their first professional games in the BCM as the 1-0 Fraport Skyliners Juniors faced the 0-1 TG s Oliver Wurzburg and for Bonga is was a wipe out while for Barkdale, it was a ve4ry sweet start to his professional career. Barkdale helped spank the Fraport Skyliners Juniors 80-67 giving the TG s.Oliver Wurzburg their first victory of the season. The first quarter was tight, but TG s.Oliner Wurzburg took over in the second and controlled the game until the end. After the win, the Lexington Native was all smiles and content with his 13 point, eight rebound, three assists and three steals. “It felt good winning my first professional game and it always feels good winning on the road. I look forward to keep to continue to grow as a player and with my teammates and hope for many more winning games like this”, said Marcellus Barksdale. He already showed in his debut that he can play the European style even if there was one aspect that will take some time and that he knows how to juggle when to shoot and when to pass the ball. “It is hard getting used to the footwork and putting down the ball as soon as I get it, but I have been working on this and I know that basketball is the same everywhere. I just take advantage of whatever the defense gives me and then make best possible play wheather it is scoring or finding my teammates”, stated Marcellus Barksdale. TG s.Oliver Wurzburg was the better team for 40 minutes and were two main components that led them by Frankfurt. “We were more aggressive on defense and won the rebound battle. These were two things we wanted to do well going in and did. We wanted it more than Frankfurt”, stressed Marcellus Barksdale. One has to give Fraport Skyliners head coach Eric Detlev credit that his words of wisdom stick in the heads of his players, but the only problem is that they aren´t always able to execute it on the court. “We always go in with energy and having self confidence something that coach tells us, but we didn´t play with the energy we normally do to be able to keep the game close for 40 minutes. We fought under the boards, but they did a better job rebounding”, added Fraport Skyliner Junior Konstantin Schubert.

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Johannes Richter Muscles The Fraport Skyliners Juniors Past Ehingen 77-72 in Game One Of Pro B Final

One of the most difficult things for a professional team that carries double license players is when the two teams have conflicting schedules that hit each other at the same time. When that does happen, it is never an easy task for the head coach to juggle changing rosters. For Fraport Skyliners Juniors head coach Eric Detlev having to confront these problems has been something of getting used to, but since his arrival in 2012, he has had enough practice trying to master it. Recently the club had that problem and were chewed up and spit out in Weissenhorn 107-38 where one may have thought from the score that it was men playing among elderly men. However sometimes even in a brief time, you can learn from your mistakes and come back the next time under similar circumstances and play with a lot more spirt, heart and possibly hitting  a few more shots and witness eye popping results. Last weekend, Beko BBL team Fraport Skyliners were on the road in Chalon, France looking to win their third club title, while the Pro B team Frankfurt Juniors were looking to move into the final with a win in Dresden. With the danger of getting an injury, it was no secret that Gordon Herbert would take every available player and did with Johannes Richter, Max Merz and Tomas Dimsa who weren´t available to the pro B team. Having these players in France left Eric Detlev a depleted team in Dresden that have one of the best crowds in the league. Guys like Niklas Kiel and Stefan Ilzhoefer who contributed to the Fiba Europe Cup success playing 4 games surely had Chalon in their thoughts at one time or another, but blocked that out in Dresden and stepped up with the team winning 96-94. What made the win even more spectacular was that despite having a 22 point lead in the second half and then letting Dresden come back and cut the lead down to two points with under a minute to go, they buckled down and won the game. Ilzhoefer, Kiel and co were the hero´s of Dresden while 24 hours later, the organization was celebrating the hero´s of Chalon as they took the cup back to Germany. In the Pro B final which is a two game series, the hero´s of Chalon were in the stands cheering on the hero´s of Dresden, but they had to play against the powerful Ehingen team that had swept the Giants Nordlingen in the semi-finals. The Fraport Skyliners Juniors knew that they had to lay the foundation in game one, if they were to have any chance in game two and were able to muster a 77-72 victory. “It was a tough game. We went on  a run in the first quarter and they did in the second quarter. It came down to the last five minutes where some balls went our way and we came out with the five point win. Johannes Richter carried us and played great. They gave him 3-4 dribbles and all he had to do was flip the ball in the basket. They let him play like that and we gladly took it”, stressed Fraport Skyliners Juniors guard Travis Thompson. Even if Ehingen lost by five points, all they have to do in game two to win the 2016 Pro B title is win by more than five points and probably will not have to face Richter who will be on the bench in Frankfurt against Alba Berlin in game one of the Beko BBL playoffs. “It was a great game and Frankfurt was very physical. We knew that they have a very good big man with Richter and good guard play. We tried to limit the touches of Richter, but he played smart and strong”, added Ehingen guard Devon Moore.

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